About the Psychology Department

School of Social & Cultural Studies: Psychology Department

The Psychology program at Truman reflects the breadth, excitement, and rigor of scientific inquiry into human behavior and experience.

The distinguished and dedicated faculty in the Psychology Department — one of the greatest strengths of our program — are professionally active and have a wide breadth of research and teaching interests covering popular specializations that include business psychology, biofeedback, clinical psychology, cognition, development, learning and memory, parenting, psychopharmacology, and more. Our faculty prides itself on being available to students, and numerous research teams throughout the department engage students in original research.

Bright and curious students are attracted to our program because they want to learn how they can help people find their way to more meaningful lives.

Psychology Academic Programs

The Psychology Department offers a variety of courses in the major specializations of psychology: abnormal psychology, applied, clinical, cognitive, developmental, industrial, physiological, social, and others.

Provide a broad-based education in the discipline:Psychology has long been recognized as a liberal arts and sciences discipline. This recognition is a consequence of Psychology’s study of human behavior (alone, in groups, interacting with the environment) and conscious experience (attitudes, emotions, and thoughts). The Psychology curriculum at Truman State University reflects the American Psychological Association and the American Psychological Society’s recognition of the subject matter of the discipline.

Instruct students in the scientific method:In trying to understand the domains addressed by the discipline, Psychology employs the scientific method and statistical inference and analysis to gather and assess data. Upon graduation from Truman State University, students should understand and appreciate the rationale and methodology of scientific inquiry.

Prepare students for success in graduate school and in the workplace:Major courses are geared toward preparation for graduate school. The content areas in Psychology reflect those sampled by the Graduate Record Exam Advanced Test in Psychology. Students are encouraged to become involved in psychological research and internship opportunities that are available. In addition, the variety of courses offered provides students with a broad perspective on human behavior and thought that may be applied across multiple workplace settings.

Psychology Curriculum

The Psychology curriculum includes physiological bases of behavior such as the brain and nervous system, sensory mechanisms, and perception; learning, memory, concept formation, thinking, language, and problem-solving; development, personality and abnormal behavior; psychological testing; and the influence of social contexts on the individual. In addition, opportunity is provided for students to become involved in psychological research.

On Feb. 1, 2015, at 7:00 pm, Professor Sal Costa spoke at The Last Lecture Series: Round 1. This event is a chance for professors to speak about what they would say if it was their last lecture. Professor Sal Costa has been with Truman since 1975. His research focuses mainly on the use of […]

Psychology major, Roberto Renteria, one of six students, represented Truman’s Ronald E. McNair Program at the Annual McNair Scholars Research Conference Sept. 11-13 at the University of Maryland, Baltimore Country. The scholars gave public presentations based upon their projects conducted this past summer. Roberto presented “Do Anger and Aggression Mediate Relations between Depression and Impairment?” […]